We at SIYE are thrilled to mark Albus Severus Potter's first ride on the Hogwarts Express this morning! Cheers, little fellow -- it will all work out, yeah?

Challenge 2017-3 Update:

We're off to a roaring start. Welsh Green, or Hungarian Horntail you ask? Nay, the roaring is all the applause for two great stories already in the mill, and hopefully more to come!

A special note: we received a question about whether it is permissible for an author to submit two stories to the same challenge? The answer is that, to the best of our research, nobody ever said no (and indeed the Hemmingway 6 challenges actively encouraged multiple entries) so all writers with multiple beastly tales are welcome to contribute them!

By way of reminder, the topic for Challenge 2017-3 is Somebody is going on a magical creature hunt -- tell us about it! Categories for the challenge include 'Most Adventuresome', 'Most Unexpected' and 'Best Overall'. Stories must be submitted by midnight, Nov. 15, in order for award announcements to be made on Dec. 1. The strict requirement that stories focus on Harry/Ginny is relaxed for this challenge, although it's impossible to deny that HG stories are always real crowd pleasers.

Let's Begin Voting for 2018-1 Topics:

Years into their marriage, Ginny discovers something surprising about Harry. Tell us about it.

By accident, Harry and Ginny stumble upon a hidden Portkey and are swept away. What happens next, and how do they get back?

Harry has never been abroad before. His first trip is with Ginny. Where do they go, and why?

In the rubble of the final battle, Harry and Ginny both think that the other has perished. What do they do?

Harry secretly discovers that the Mirror of Erised can be used for time travel! Ginny secretly learns the same thing, and both begin using the mirror, without realising that the other is doing so too. Oi, there's a recipe for trouble!

Harry's and Ginny's hectic lifestyles come to a screeching halt when one of them suffers a debilitating accident. How will things change as the couple adjusts to a slow recovery?

Please let us know your preferences! Please also feel free to make new suggestions, which will be added to the above list.

ghl on 2017.09.01 - 12:04PM ()

Comments

pleurocoelus came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.02 - 04:16AM to say:

Congrats to Al Potter!
My vote is for #1. Surprising secrets sound superb, though the others ought to open opportunities as well.

CharmHazel came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.02 - 07:36PM to say:

Number 4!!!! Love that idea!!

potterfan2008 came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.03 - 02:54PM to say:

I like 2, 3, & 4. They all seem to have a lot of possibilities. #1 could be interesting as well. So I guess I'm saying I vote for all but #5.

BigFatMaybe came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.03 - 03:12PM to say:

Number 1 leaves the most freedom to the authors I think, but I do like number 2 more. I think we have enough battle and post-battle fics, so I don't really like 4.

Gin110881 came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.04 - 04:43AM to say:

#2, #4,or #5

pleurocoelus came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.04 - 10:41PM to say:

You know, #4 and #5 could be merged pretty easily. I'm not advocating that it is done officially, but if either one is chosen, someone (or multiple someones) could use that as an idea...

Prongs I came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.05 - 03:41AM to say:

2 or 5.
... and a suggestion:
Ginny and Harry are very successful in their careers, and so busy that they barely see each other. Suddenly one of them becomes seriously injured, or sick, and the healers predict that it'll take a long time to recover completely. How does the other react to this situation?

GHL came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.05 - 10:07AM to say:

Pleurocoelus -- seems you're channeling the originator (CometMoon) who proposed much of this as one item. A few of us thought the combination was too much for one challenge though, what with trying to blend the angst of 4 with the humour or irony of 5. Could be done, but a sensitive handling of it might take more than the standard 20K word target.

Thanks, Prongs I -- a #6 has been added and (as a latecomer) can also be carried on to later ballots.

GHL came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.05 - 10:09AM to say:

Oh, and certainly people are welcome to blend any combination of challenge ideas as inspiration hits.

mdauben came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.08 - 03:00PM to say:

Actually, those all sound pretty interesting! If I had to chose one... I think I'd go with #2 as it has lots of potential for a fun story. Some of the others do have the potential for a more serious treatment, though...

0902FRIENDs came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.09 - 11:05AM to say:

I'd love to have a try with #1, though #3 sounds like something I'd be able to work with as well... So either of the two if I have a say in it!

pleurocoelus came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.10 - 03:14AM to say:

GHL - that explains why the two of them seemed to fit together so well.

Here's another latecomer:
I've been thinking about suggesting this, but I can't seem to say it succinctly so bear with me. I'm sure one or more of the admins can find a way to say this with fewer words.

Most of us on this site have embraced the truth that Harry and Ginny are truly soul mates. However, the trouble with soul mates is that fate will find a way to get you together, even despite yourself or in less-than-ideal circumstances.

We've seen various types of stories where the circumstances are less than ideal: marriage law fics, marriage contract fics, teen pregnancy fics, fake-dating/fake-engaged/fake-married fics, Harry-marries-to-attain-majority-and-avoid-The-Trace fics, etc.

What if Harry and Ginny get together with some kind of ulterior motives. Not that one is decieving the other. Both parties know what they're doing, it's just not quite as noble as Pure True Love. Of course, they could actually fall in love later.

I've been loathe to suggest this because I'm a bit concerned that some would interpret this as bashing.

Actually, this sounds kind of like the beginning of a Brennus story.

ellen came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.10 - 04:27AM to say:

2 and 3 sound fun. All 6 options have the makings of good stories to read, but some of them might need more than a challenge length to make the most of the ideas.

iiradned came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.12 - 04:35AM to say:

They all sound interesting, but #1 sounds the most intriguing to me.

pleurocoelus came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.13 - 06:42AM to say:

Now that I think about it, the premise I outlined above is a Brennus story. That is part of the plot of In the Heat of the Night.

AuntieMuriel came out of the woodwork on 2017.09.26 - 04:14AM to say:

#2 or #6. How about an Auntie Muriel challenge? Auntie Muriel has announced a visit to the Burrow for tea time on Sunday afternoon. The young inhabitants of the Burrow are desperately looking for excuses not to be at home at this time.

Gin110881 came out of the woodwork on 2017.10.05 - 03:28AM to say:

It's Saturday night, the Hogwarts students are gathered in the Great Hall for dinner.
Without the faculty staff noticing it, well, at least not before it was too late, the house elves inadvertently serve elf wine instead of pumpkin juice this evening.
Tell us about this unforgettable evening. Of course, we are especially interested how Harry and Ginny's experienced it.

GHL came out of the woodwork on 2017.10.05 - 11:01AM to say:

Love both the Muriel and the Elf Wine ideas. Thank you!

StarFeather came out of the woodwork on 2017.10.06 - 10:35PM to say:

I'll submit two stories to the same challenge encouraged by the comment above. "all writers with multiple beastly tales are welcome to contribute them!"